tawney

Noun

tawny (countable and uncountable, plural tawnies or tawnys)

1. A light brown to brownish orange colour.
   • Neere to Canuſia, the ſheepe be deepe yellovv or tavvnie; and about Tarentum, they are of a brovvne and duſkiſh colour.1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book VIII.] Divers Kinds of Wooll and Clothes.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall...
   1. (specifically) Synonym of tenné (“a rarely-used tincture of orange or bright brown”).
      • [T]he Herehaught [herald] muſt have a ſinguler reſpect to the face of him that ſhould haue the Armes, vvhere he ſhal vvel perceiue in vvhat ſeaſõ of the yere, his ovvn complexion vvill ſerue him to do beſt ſeruice in: […] If in Somer, either a Hound or Salamandra, or ſome part of them, of the...1597, Gerard Leigh [i.e., Gerard Legh], The Accedence of Armorie, London: […] Henrie Ballard […], →OCLC, folio 116, verso
2. Something of a light brown or brownish orange colour (particularly if it has the word tawny in its name).
   • Iohn VVittie his great tavvny Gilloflovver is for forme of grovving, in leafe and flovver altogether like vnto the ordinary tavvny, the flovver onely, becauſe it is the faireſt and greateſt that any other hath nourſed vp, maketh the difference, as alſo that it is of a faire deepe ſcarlet colour....1629, John Parkinson, “Caryophyllus hortensus. Carnations and Gilloflowers.”, in Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris. […], London: […] Hvmfrey Lownes and Robert Yovng […], →OCLC, pages 311–312
   1. (Somerset) The common bullfinch or Eurasian bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula).
      • TAWNY. A bullfinch. Somerset.[1847, James Orchard Halliwell, “TAWNY”, in A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs, and Ancient Customs, from the Fourteenth Century. […], volume II (J–Z), London...
3. (alcoholic beverages) In full tawny port: a sweet, fortified port wine which is blended and matured in wooden casks.
   • Tawny is the most versatile Port style. The best tawnies are good-quality wines that have faded to a pale garnet or brownish red color during long wood aging. […] We consider 10- and 20-year-old tawnies the best buys; the older ones aren't always worth the extra bucks.2006, Ed McCarthy, Mary Ewing-Mulligan, “Wine Roads Less Traveled: Fortified and Dessert Wines”, in Wine for Dummies (For Dummies), 4th edition, Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, part V...
4. (obsolete) A fabric of a light brown to brownish orange colour.
   • [N]o perſone, or perſones, occupiyng the ſeate of diẽg, ſhal die, or altre into colours, or cauſe to be died, or altred into colours, any wollen clothes, as broune blewes, pieukes, tawnies, or violettes, except the ſame wollẽ clothes be perfeictly boiled, greined or madered vpon the woade, & ſhot...1553, “The Seconde Chapitre. An Acte for the True Making of Woullen Clothes.”, in Anno III. & IIII. Edwardi Sexti. Actes Made in the Session of This Present Parlament, Holden vpon Prorogation at...

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